The procurement process is an integral part of any organization. As such, organizations are often seeking ways to improve procurement procedures to ensure that the organization has the goods and services it needs to facilitate day-to-day business operations. The improvements to the procurement process often focus on increased efficiencies. Large corporations are especially prone to complex and drawn-out procedures to order and receive needed goods and/or services. For example, the procurement process in corporations typically involves creating a list of approved vendors, obtaining vendor catalogs, completing a purchase order, obtaining approvals (at various levels) for the purchase, placing the order with the vendor, receiving the order, reconciling receipt of the item (e.g., goods and/or services), and finally, routing the item to the appropriate employee and/or department. While such structured procurement systems are often used in most circumstances, the systems are not without their flaws. Moreover, most organizations do not have a clearly defined methodology in place for efficiently sourcing special projects that may require items that fall outside of the goods and services typically acquired by the organization.
In order to increase efficiency and reduce costs within the procurement practice, a strong need exists for a documented and repeatable process using a complete analyze-to-payment work stream. Moreover, organizations have a strong need for a structured solution that enables commodity managers to more closely define their requirements, perform budgetary and strategic analysis, obtain the appropriate authorizations, select vendors, negotiate and contract with selected vendors, and receive and reconcile items.